I have written a book on the politics of autism policy. Building on this research, this blog offers insights, analysis, and facts about recent events. If you have advice, tips, or comments, please get in touch with me at jpitney@cmc.edu

Only early, intensive intervention has been shown to help these children improve and, in many cases, overcome the debilitating effects of autism. Yet early intervention services, which are plentiful in most states, are sorely lacking in Mississippi. This is partly due to the fact that few families here can afford the cost of these services without insurance reimbursement, and Mississippi currently doesn't require health insurers to cover early intervention. Because few families can afford it, early intervention specialists don't locate in Mississippi.

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Without the proper intervention – either as preschoolers or within the school system – this population has little chance of gaining independence or becoming contributing members of society. Few resources exist in Mississippi to help these children transition out of school and into adulthood, and as a result, they tend to drain money from state and local coffers instead of contributing to them.

If none of the state's 8,139 children currently living with autism overcome their challenges by the time they reach adulthood, it could cost Mississippi taxpayers more than $26 billion over the next 50 years. And that's if this population doesn't expand; mostly likely it will. If so, it will strain the Department of Education, the Department of Mental Health, the vocational rehabilitation centers and the families and communities caring for them.

Yet if we begin to address this crisis today, we have the potential to rehabilitate a generation of children and save the state billions of dollars in the end.